Romance is all about setting a mood, and what’s better than music when it comes to doing just that?

With Valentine’s Day just around the corner, we asked readers to share their favorite tunes for making out. They chose everything from selections from the Great American Songbook to ’70s soft rock, with only one hit mentioned twice. Here are plenty of ideas for your Valentine’s Day playlist.

“I first heard ‘Unchained Melody’ by the Righteous Brothers when I was 14 years old. The song sounded so overwhelmingly powerful, the passion in his voice describing an emotion I did not understand. I wondered what it would be like to fall in love, to have someone need me like that. I wrote in my diary every night about that strange, unfamiliar yearning, hoping it would be just like he described. And when it did happened to me just a few years later, it was to this very song. And after all these years, my heart still skips a beat when I hear it.” — Joan Perrault, St Paul.

“The Delfonics did the original ‘La-La Means I Love You,’ but Prince’s is the best. Love it!” — Mary Caruso, St. Paul.

“The year was 1975. Summer was in full swing, days were warm and nights were long. It was one of the best times ever. My boyfriend and I had graduated from high school (and we were) getting ready for college in the fall. Carefree days. And we were in love.

“So many great tunes on the radio that summer, but our favorite was Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons’ ‘Who Loves You,’ a lovelorn song with a catchy, upbeat melody. My boyfriend sang the verses to me, that was true love! His singing would follow with butterfly kisses from his long eyelashes. How lucky was I?

“Flash forward some 40 years. That boyfriend and I have been happily married now for 38 years. Two awesome grown children and four beautiful grandchildren later, whenever we hear that song on the radio we crank up the sound and sing an off-tune verse or two. And yes, he still gives me the butterfly kisses, and I’m still lucky!” — Laura Cragin, Menomonie, Wis.

“The late ’50s were simple times for my sweetheart and me. Almost every Friday or Saturday evening we would take in a movie and than go to Paul Pearson’s Drive-In Restaurant across the Ford bridge in Minneapolis. We would have our usual grilled cheese sandwich and Coke. From there, we would drive back to St. Paul’s Mississippi River Boulevard and park at a lover’s lane near the Ford plant. There we would tune the radio to our favorite disc jockey, Carl Peterson, whose theme song by the Ray Conniff Singers was ‘Someone to Watch Over Me.’ We would cling to each other and fall in love to this song and each other. To this day, the rare times we hear ‘our song,’ we will dance and, for the next three minutes, return to those peaceful, love-filled times 58 years ago.” — Beverly and Jerry Mertz, St. Paul.

“‘Always,’ written by Irving Berlin, may not be a make-out song, but it has been a favorite of ours for almost 65 years of marriage. It spells out so many things that are not planned but ‘Always’ work out! The song was part of our 50th wedding anniversary celebration.” — Bev and Russ Boogren, Little Canada.

“I asked my wife what her favorite make-out song was. Much to my surprise, she picked out the same one as I did, and for the same reasons. We met and married in middle age, each of us having been married once before, so our favorite make-out song wasn’t necessarily ‘our song.’ Indeed, we had never discussed the topic. That makes it all the more interesting and gratifying that we both picked ‘The Great Gig in the Sky’ from Pink Floyd’s 1973 album ‘Dark Side of the Moon.’ Clare Torry’s wordless vocalizations certainly are evocative of, shall we say, certain activities of consenting adults. She even builds to a notable culmination and denouement. I must say, my bride of 25 years (making the same choice) has given both of us an additional level of Valentine’s Day inspiration.” — Gregory Schleifer, Hugo.

“Hands down, the best make-out song of all time is ‘This Magic Moment’ by the Drifters. I know because this ‘magical’ song regularly got me many a long, lingering smooch and earned me big trouble with my mom. As I was turning 13 in 1960, sock hops were all the rage. And, boy, we couldn’t wait until the DJ turned the lights down low and played a slow one! The wonderful, melodic and romantic ‘This Magic Moment’ had the girls melting in my arms.

“The unforgivable sin in my house was to come home from a dance with lipstick on my collar, earning an instant grounding from the lipstick police.” — Sam Purviance, St. Paul.

“There’s a scene in the 1973 film ‘American Graffiti’ in which geeky Terry, aka the Toad, is making out with Debbie, a cute, flirty blonde he picked up while driving around in a boss 1958 Chevy Impala. Playing on the radio is ‘I Only Have Eyes For You’ by the Flamingos, a classic oldie that’s dreamy, almost haunting lilt is a perfect compliment to this magical romantic moment for a socially awkward teenage boy.

“For my dime in the jukebox, ‘I Only Have Eyes For You’ is unmatched in invoking those special coming-of-age memories: a first kiss, that first crush, sock hops, drive-in movies, cherry Cokes, cruising around the loop in downtown St. Paul, girls wearing pleated skirts and ruby red lipstick, and, of course, making out.” — Lou DiSanto, St. Paul.

“I once had a previous girlfriend who told me that ‘Kiss You All Over’ by Exile was always making her think of me. This feeling was more than mutual, so when we got together, a good time was had by all.” — Ron Alan, Burnsville.

“Back in the ’60s, there just wasn’t one favorite song, but what we did listen to was (late-night WCCO Radio show) Hobbs’ House. He had a mellow, sexy voice and played the best make-out music ever!” — Nancy Growe, Webster, Wis.

“I’ve never had a good Valentine’s, but ‘Sharing the Night Together’ by Dr. Hook is the song I would listen to alone, dreaming of the perfect night with someone who loved me truly. It’s the lovers song.” — Roxy Preimesberger Rutledge, St. Paul.

“I had a 1941 Chevrolet in the 1960s with an AM radio. Two songs from the Lettermen — ‘Put Your Head on My Shoulder’ and ‘The Way You Look Tonight’ — usually helped me out. The Vogues’‘Turn Around, Look at Me’ was a great alternate. Wish those days could return!” — Doug Borrell, Rosemount.

“I was 16 when I saw the boy of my dreams. I told my mom that I was going to marry that guy someday and we have been married for more than 53 years now. Our make-out song is ‘Claudette,’ written by Roy Orbison in 1958 and first released by the Everly Brothers.” — Claudette Leonard, Maplewood.

“I grew up in the ’60s and Tommy James and the Shondells’ ‘I Think We’re Alone Now’ is the perfect fit.” — John Judkins, Cottage Grove.

“A warm summer night in 1970, a romantic dinner, a walk down Grand Avenue then a ride to Pilot Knob to ‘watch the airplanes’ and listen to the radio. Percy Sledge, the golden voice of soul, singing ‘When a Man Loves a Woman.’ No other artist has ever matched his passion, nor fluid voice. The voice, the music and the rhythm were a perfect combination. That date and that boy are both ancient history now, but that song remains the best make-out song ever.” — Wendy Hockbein, Oakdale.

“The year was 1953 and I was a young Marine just discharged after the Korean War when I met the girl of my dreams, a lovely young student nurse. We hit it off right away. On one of our dates, we heard this beautiful Italian love song that seemed to be just for us. The song was ‘You Alone’ by Perry Como. This is our song and still is after 62 years of marriage.” — Bud and Dee Lindbaur, St. Paul.

“My favorite make-out song: ‘Be My Love’ sung by Mario Lanza in the 1950s. The words to this song and how intense Mario Lanza sang it speaks for itself.” — Donna, Oakdale.

“For both my husband and me, the song would be ‘Theme From A Summer Place’ by Percy Faith. One day, while en route to the cabin, I asked him to think of his one favorite song, and I would do the same. Unbelievably, we both simultaneously chose ‘Summer Place.’ Each time we hear it, be it on radio, at home or in a department store, we flash each other ‘the look’!” – LaVyrle Spencer, North Oaks.

“It was 1950 and I started dating a man who was serving in the U.S. Navy. He was stationed in Great Lakes, Ill. While home here, on leave, we went to outdoor movies and we ate out a lot. He carefully chose places with no alcohol as I was still underage.

“We found a favorite spot, parking above the banks of the Mississippi River just across the High Bridge, in Cherokee Park. We could see all the lights of the city and the bright stars in the sky. It was very romantic. We were content just being together. The radio played our song, ‘Ebb Tide,’ with Frank Sinatra on vocals.

“We became engaged there in May 1950 and married on Oct. 7, 1950. I traveled with him as a Navy wife. We would be married 67 years this October, but he is gone for three years now. I still remember ‘our place’ and ‘our song.’ It helps me fall asleep some nights.” — Elaine Dandre, St. Paul.

“My husband and I met in our 30s, way past the age of making out to music, much less any song in particular. But once, we made out in his home office chair to ‘A Groovy Kind of Love’ by Phil Collins. Just hearing the song in my head puts me in a good mood. It’s a perfect song to get your groove on with your special someone.” — Marilyn Stacey, Lakeville.

“Alina Baraz’s ‘Make You Feel,’ who wouldn’t want to make out to this song? It is epic, and lyrically sensational: ‘You gotta crave it and chase it, until you’re close enough to taste it.’ ” – Huechi Lee, St. Paul.

“He was 17 years old and I was 18 years old. He was a senior at Chisago City and I just graduated from Johnson High. He had a laid-back smile and a ‘Hollywood Haircut’ – ducktail and flat on the top. I was in the 1957 Winter Carnival for Queen of Snows. I represented Queen of Payne Avenue. He was my escort for the ceremony. After the carnival, we went together until 1960. Pat Boone’s ‘April Love’ was our song. We got married April 23, 1960. Whenever the song came on the radio, we would always remember our life. We were married for 53 years when my husband, Gary, passed away. It has been four years now. It was an April kind of love.” — Sharon L. Montgomery, North St. Paul.

“‘Unchained Melody’ by the Righteous Brothers has always been a favorite. Unknown to me, my husband made plans for us to fly to Nashville for our 25th wedding anniversary. He made plans at the Gaylord Hotel, got the airline tickets and made arrangements with my parents to watch our son. He had never planned anything like this before, so this was special.

“The evening of our anniversary, he had made reservations for us at Jimmy Kelly’s restaurant. When we got there, the piano player came over and asked if he could sing us our favorite song. He then proceeded to sing ‘Unchained Melody’ just for us. It was so romantic!

“We will be celebrating our 44th anniversary soon, and the 25th anniversary continues to hold a very special spot in my heart for Jim, that night, and especially that song.” — Barb Aydt, West St. Paul.

A Minnesota native, Ross Raihala joined the Pioneer Press as pop music critic in 2004, after stints at The Forum in Fargo, N.D., and The Olympian in Olympia, Wash. He covers local and national music as well as some theater and other arts and entertainment topics. His favorite part of his job is reviewing, and live tweeting, Twin Cities arena concerts. And, yes, he saw the same show you did.

Maren began her journalism career writing freelance film reviews at the Grand Forks Herald in Grand Forks, N.D. She began working at the Pioneer Press in 2003 and, in the intervening years, has focused mainly on copy editing, with a recent stint in web producing and occasional writing forays (you haven't lived until you've read her harrowing account of a family vacation in the Black Hills of South Dakota).

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